Calipari Is Signed, Sealed and Delivered

John Calipari's Tigers are vying with the Vols and 'Dores for state superiority

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - John Calipari has accepted an offer toleave Memphis to coach the tradition-rich Kentucky basketballprogram, according to reports. The coach sent a text message to ESPN.com's Andy Katz on Tuesdayevening saying, "I am accepting the UK job! Go Big Blue, coachCal." Calipari spent the day considering the Wildcats' lucrative offerand calling former Kentucky coaches, including Joe B. Hall. Hall said the informal chat centered on what it takes to surviveone of college basketball's most prestigious, most scrutinized andmost lucrative jobs. Kentucky fired Billy Gillispie last Fridayafter two disappointing seasons. The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Tenn., first reported thehiring. The deal Calipari is expected to sign could reach eight yearsand pay more than $4 million per season, an unidentified sourcetold SI.com. Tigers walk-on Preston Laird said Calipari met with the teamTuesday afternoon, first as a group and then with individualplayers, including Laird. The freshman guard described the meetingas very quiet, "Nobody really said anything." "He started off by telling us it was the hardest day of hislife," Laird said. But the guard said Calipari wasn't very specific. "He can't say that he's taking it, but he said he was probablygoing to sign the contract," Laird told a reporter. Kentucky spokesman DeWayne Peevy would not confirm a deal hadbeen reached. "I'm waiting on my boss to tell me it's a done deal," he said. University of Memphis spokesman Bob Winn confirmed athleticdirector R.C. Johnson had spoken with Calipari. Asked if Caliparihad told Johnson he was taking the Kentucky job, Winn declined tocomment. "I can confirm that he has told R.C. (Johnson) that he isheaded to Lexington, Ky., this evening," Winn told The AssociatedPress. Memphis has scheduled a news conference for noon Wednesday whereJohnson will discuss the future of the Memphis basketball program. Hoping to make a big splash after Gillispie's tenure, Kentuckyis expected to go deep into its pockets to land one of the nation'smost high-profile coaches. The deal likely would make Calipari the highest-paid coach inthe country, eclipsing the $3.5 million average salary of Florida'sBilly Donovan and dwarf those of Calipari's predecessors RickPitino, Tubby Smith and Gillispie. Pitino never made more than $2 million a season during hisremarkably successful eight-year run at the school. Smith'scompensation neared $2.1 million at the end of his decade with theprogram and Gillispie received a base salary of $2.3 million withanother $750,000 available in incentives. The salary nearly triples the $1.6 million salary of Kentuckyfootball coach Rich Brooks, a rarity in a conference where footballreigns. Calipari already was one of the highest-paid coaches in thecountry, signing an extension with Memphis last year that paid him$2.35 million annually. Memphis had promised to match whatever Kentucky offers, but theWildcats have one thing Memphis doesn't: the opportunity to coachin a top-flight conference at the home of college basketball'swinningest program. It'll be seen as money well spent if Calipari can duplicate thesuccess that's followed him throughout his collegiate coachingcareer. He put together turnarounds at Massachusetts and Memphis,winning over 440 games in 17 seasons and leading both schools to aFinal Four. Putting the pieces together at Kentucky might not take long,though the program has plenty of question marks. The Wildcats went 22-14 this year, missing the NCAA tournamentfor the first time since 1991 despite having two of the SEC's bestplayers in guard Jodie Meeks and forward Patrick Patterson. Patterson said after the season he'd likely return for hisjunior year, while Meeks - named a second-team All-American onMonday - was going to take his time on a decision. Hiring Calipari might be all the incentive they need to return.He won over fans and made over the program at Memphis behind anelectrifying style of play that has churned out a handful of NBAplayers, including Derrick Rose, Shawnae Williams, DaJuan Wagnerand Joey Dorsey. Calipari's ability to lure some of the nation's best high schoolplayers - regardless of how long they plan on sticking around - hasmade him an attractive candidate for years. He's been able to fight off temptation for nearly a decade, butthe chance to makeover one of college basketball's elite programsproved to be too much. Mitch Barnhart stressed the need to find a coach who can handleeverything that comes along with coaching the Wildcats. Caliparihas never met a camera he didn't like and certainly doesn't lackconfidence: two things Gillispie struggled with during his tenure. Calipari became the focus after Florida coach Billy Donovan tookhis name out of the running. Kentucky received permission to speak to Calipari on Monday,less than 72 hours after Gillispie was fired. Sensing the need tomake a home-run hire after the Gillispie debacle, Caliparicertainly has the resume and the charm to sate a rabid fan base. But he also has some baggage. He led Massachusetts to the FinalFour in 1996 only to have the school vacate the honor when starMarcus Camby admitted to receiving gifts from a sports agent. Though Calipari has never been found of wrongdoing by the NCAA,he's been unable to shed the Camby mess from his reputation and hishire could raise some eyebrows from fans still sensitive over therecruiting violations during the Eddie Sutton era 20 years ago thatnearly wrecked the program. Rick Pitino swooped in to save Kentucky after Sutton left,taking the Wildcats to three Final Fours and a national title ineight years on the sideline. Neither Gillispie or Tubby Smith have been able to duplicatethat success, but neither had the charisma or swagger of Calipari,who now finds himself working an hour east of Pitino. The two have a long history dating back to when Pitinorecommended Calipari for the head coaching job at UMass in 1988.Pitino's Kentucky team beat Calipari's UMass squad in the '96 FinalFour and the two have had a testy - at least on the floor -relationship ever since. The rivalry really began when Pitino took over at Louisville in2001 as the Cardinals and the Tigers fought with Cincinnati andMarquette for C-USA supremacy. Those three programs left for theBig East in 2005, and Memphis has dominated the conference eversince. Memphis hasn't lost a C-USA game since 2006, and the Tigers arethe only program in the country to receive either a No. 1 or No. 2seed in the NCAA tournament in each of the last four years. Despite their perceived differences, Pitino has little doubtCalipari will be a great fit at Kentucky. "He's done a great job at UMass. He's done a great job atMemphis and he would do a great job at Kentucky if that's theirpick," Pitino said Tuesday. --- AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tenn., andAssociated Press Writers Woody Baird and Beth Rucker in Memphiscontributed to this report.

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